The Gucci furry loafer is undoubtedly the fashion totem of Fall 2015. The front part is that classic mid-shine Gucci loafer shape, with a horse-bit snaffle that harks back to the 80s, while the inside and the back are like a pair of slippers or a squashed children’s TV puppet. It isn’t the first time high fashion has made a case for the furry inner sole. In autumn 2012, Céline designer Phoebe Philo showed a court shoe with a real fur inside: a pair of fur-lined Birkenstock-ish sandals from the same collection were a pivotal moment in haute slipper chic. Of course, detractors pointed and sneered at their weirdness and impracticality, but a couple of seasons later, actual Birkenstocks were doing a brisk trade in sheepskin-lined sandals. Despite these recent forays into furry-shoe territory, Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s recently installed designer, has been credited with making the furry shoe all his own.